Chinese culture: Mid-Autumn Festival
A symbolic day within the Chinese culture
---
Origins and development
The
Mid-Autumn festival was celebrated by the Chinese since the Shang dynasty (1600
- 1046 BCE). It occurs every year in the middle of
August of the lunar calendar year (24th September 2018). Over three thousand
years of development, the purpose of the festival transitioned from celebrating
the harvest to a day for
family reunion. Many famous poets in history such as
Libai have written poems commemorating the day and expressing sentimental
thoughts about the moon and home. The Legend of Chang E is also another widely-known story associated with this special
day. It is a sad and romantic story about Chang E flying to the moon due to
taking an elixir in order to protect her beloved partner, legend says that on
this day, people would worship the moon to ask for the kind Chang E's
blessings.
Celebration
On the festival day, families will gather together to celebrate this occasion with a whole table of food, appreciate the full moon and eat moon cakes together. Moon cakes are an iconic food and staple for this day with many different flavours to choose from. They are also gifted to families and friends as wishes for them to have a long and happy life. Other activities people undertake during the festival include lighting lanterns. People would set free flying lanterns either writing their wishes on them or small riddles for any lucky person who gets the lantern to solve.
---
Overall, the Mid-Autumn festival is a special time for people to gather and spend time together bonding over food and traditional activities. On behalf of the Nihaoaupair team, we wish everyone a happy Mid-Autumn festival!
